Doctrine and Discipleship

By Dean Collins

Throughout the centuries, the church has struggled with how to remain faithful to the teachings of Scripture and manage to live in a world that seeks their doctrines for life from other sources. One only needs to read the Sermon on the Mount to realize that following Jesus looks different than following the world.

After Paul established the church in Ephesus, he sent a young disciple to help the church, which was struggling with false teachers. Paul sent Timothy two letters filled with both encouragement and reminders of the true doctrines of the church. Paul urged that the church not be led astray by those who would water down the gospel of Jesus. The assignment we all have of living in the world, but not following the ways of the world, requires constant prayer, study of God’s word, and courage.

Doctrine is a word often associated with the orthodoxy of our faith. As Christians, we get our doctrines from Scripture. But doctrine is not a word that is relegated to just Christianity. We have legal doctrines and political doctrines, as well. Doctrines are the beliefs and principles we live by. Sometimes, our Christian doctrines are aligned with the legal system and our politics, and sometimes, they are not. As followers of Christ, it is paramount that we always follow Jesus and his teachings, not allowing our minds and hearts to get confused by different doctrines that might come from institutions or people who try to influence and lead us.

We are living in a moment where I fear that if we are not careful, we might easily drift to doctrines that are false and do not align with what Paul told Timothy are “the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness.” Paul said that those who teach false doctrine are “puffed up with conceit and understand nothing.” As Paul continues, it only gets worse. Paul said that those who propagate false teachings have an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

It seems logical, then, that those who pass on the messages of false teachers would be guilty of the same sort of attitudes and behaviors as those who led them astray in the first place. In our current political climate, it seems that many people of faith are more eager to share political views than share the pure and generous gospel of Jesus. We must be careful that our political views don’t get confused with the doctrines of our faith.

It may be time to take an inventory of who we are listening to, who we are repeating and who we are reposting to see if their words and behaviors reflect the love of Christ. Paul associates those who teach doctrines that are different from those of Scripture with people who are seeking wealth and power. Paul admonishes that those who pursue the riches and power the world has to offer have a craving that causes them to wander away from faith.

Our Father in heaven wants to meet our every need. In verses 17-19, Paul reminds us that God richly provides us with everything we need and that our responsibility is to share the goodness of God with others in what we say and what we generously give to those in need. When we drift toward the doctrines of the world and of our politics, it is easy to get caught up in what the systems of the world can bring us. The gospel is not about what we can get. Our great privilege is that we, as citizens of God’s kingdom, get to share the good news of Jesus. When we focus on what we can give more than what we can get, we can be assured that our doctrines are rooted in Scripture and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Father, today we ask that your Holy Spirit bring to our attention any false teachings that have infiltrated our minds. Today, we choose to seek you and your kingdom first. You are our life, and we desire to share the good news of Jesus with someone today. Give us the clarity and the courage to be generous with what you have given us so that we do not get caught in the temptations of this world. In Jesus's name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
1 Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19; Titus 1:1-3 ESV

Photo by Mitchell Leach on Unsplash
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